This South Fla. recruit is the nation's No. 6 weak-side defensive end. He is up for grabs

Cardinal Gibbons pass-rusher Khris Bogle is a 6-5, 210-pounder, who produced 13 sacks last season and is the nation’s sixth-ranked week-side defensive end. For the National Day Signing Class of 2019, he will be a top target for the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Miami Hurricanes.

Cardinal Gibbons pass-rusher Khris Bogle is a 6-5, 210-pounder, who produced 13 sacks last season and is the nation’s sixth-ranked week-side defensive end. For the National Day Signing Class of 2019, he will be a top target for the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Miami Hurricanes.

For anyone trying to figure out where deluxe pass-rusher Khris Bogle of Cardinal Gibbons will play his college ball — buckle up because this could be a long and bumpy recruiting ride.

Bogle, a 6-5, 210-pounder, produced 13 sacks last season and is the nation’s sixth-ranked weak-side defensive end.

A bright young man, Bogle is enjoying the recruiting attention — and who could truly blame him? Miami is considered the favorite in Bogle’s recruitment, according to 247 Sports, followed by Florida State. But Clemson is in hot pursuit, and Bogle visited the University of Tennessee campus this past weekend.

And no one should be surprised if Bogle ends up with the Alabama Crimson Tide, which added former Miami Hurricanes defensive line coach Craig Kuligowski to their staff in February. But even the mighty Tide might have to sweat this recruitment out.

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Bogle has at times posted a top-10 list of colleges, changing names every month. And he may well take this drama right up until the second Signing Day in February.

Even so, plenty of schools feel it’s worth it to try and add Bogle, once known as a basketball player who only played football to stay in shape for hoops season.

Now that equation has flipped, thanks to Gibbons football coach Matt DuBuc, who has known Bogle since the latter was a tall-and-skinny eighth-grader.

“I kept telling him, ‘There are a lot of 6-5 basketball players,'" DuBuc said. “But as a 6-5 defensive end, he could be a commodity.”

That’s how it’s worked out for Bogle, who played JV football as a freshman and didn’t become a full-time starter until last year as a junior. His turning point came in the third game of his sophomore year, against Chaminade. Gibbons had lost three defensive tackles to injuries in that game.

Gibbons defensive coordinator Jack Hanrahan wasn’t even considering putting in Bogle because he was an end, not a tackle. But another assistant coach convinced Hanrahan that Bogle could work.

He was right.

“We put him in for 10 plays, and he affected seven of them,” Hanrahan said. “He got a sack, batted a pass, chased the quarterback … That was his coming-out party. After that, he got the bug.”

Basketball was no longer his priority, and he now plays that sport for fun. Bogle has a terrific work ethic, and DuBuc said it has been especially noticeable in the past 14 months.

“Khris has naturally thick legs and calves,” DuBuc said. “But all of a sudden, his upper body is exploding [due to weight training]. And he has a high motor because of basketball, where you sprint up and down the court repeatedly.”

In college, some schools might want to use Bogle as an outside linebacker who could drop into coverage as well as rush the passer. But DuBuc likes him at defensive end, where he accumulates sacks and pressures and also disrupts bubble screens and short slants.

He is such a force, DuBuc said, that opponents are forced to commit penalties.

“If you watch the film, a lot of times his shoulder pads are outside his jersey because of all the holding,” DuBuc said. “I warn the refs about it before every game.”

THIS AND THAT

▪ FAU has offers to three South Florida quarterbacks for the Class of 2019: Nick Scalzo of Cardinal Gibbons; Maurice Underwood of Miami Central and Daniel Richardson of Carol City. However, Underwood has committed to Marshall.

The Recruiting Column is a year-round feature of the Miami Herald. If you have a tip or story idea regarding recruiting or an impending college commitment, please contact Walter Villa at: wvilla07@yahoo.com

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